Spraying Greenware With Water To Rehydrate, Then Applying Slip?

[hershey8]

By the time I get ready to trim my stoneware bowls, they are usually borderline-dry to too dry. That's ok, because I can trim and carve without distorting the shape. Sometimes I will lightly mist the surface that I am trimming, to soften things a bit. It can be a little messy, but it works. I would like to apply some slip to the ware, slip not engobe. But I'd rather do that after trimming. I'm wondering if slip can be applied to the green ware if I mist the ware first. It would be normal to apply the slip directly to wet green ware while it's still on the wheel, to get it to stick and stay. But would misting the dry ware make applying slip workable?  Anyone done this?  ja

[neilestrick]

Slip is clay, so it has to follow the same rules as any other clay- no joining past the leather hard stage. Deflocculated slip would work best if you plan to go on the dry side of leather hard. Applying slip right after trimming is normal, you shouldn't need to mist it.

[preeta]

i always apply slip to greenware after trimming. 

 

i have extensively played with slip. and how to wet a pot. in fact i must say proudly i have learnt quite a bit about wetting a pot.

 

if your pots are pretty dry leatherhard - misting really doesnt do anything. it just gets teh surface wet. as neil pointed out you dont need to do that. 

 

however i love slip on bone dry pots. the slip cracks. i apply thick slip so the cracks stick. i manhandle my pot by spraying inside and outside if i see the slip peeling off.

 

if my pot has become too dry i wrap a wet towel around the pot and then in 10/15 mins its wet enough to apply slip and have a smooth layer. this is 'dangerous' and if you dont know what you are doing you could lose a pot. but i have lost a few pots to now know how to wet them. i broke all the rules i was asked to follow. 

 

however these are not the answers. i would make small pots and test, test, test. you'll learn sooooo much from that. i have had many failed pots. but when i get a winner its a wow winner. however i consider all my failed pots my true winners because they taught me a lot. i find i remember answers better through my mistakes than i do when someone just tells me. 

 

if you look on youtube and want to marble slip on your pot, i have discovered i really need to do that right after throwing. otherwise the pot gets too dry for the slip to flow easily.

[Marcia Selsor]

I think the best rehydrating system is a wrapping a damp cloth around the piece and wrap in plastic until the piece is rehydrated.

Marcia

[Babs]

I use deflocculated slips

I run a damp brush over entire pot, inside and out then apply slip. It seems to allow my slip to leave brush evenly, slip pretty thick.

[oldlady]

john, yes you can re-wet the clay pot sufficiently to put slip on it.  however, why not decide that it is a gamble as is and try an experiment.  break it into several pieces.  try dunking one piece into water deep enough to cover it and take it out immediately.  now scrape that piece with a sharp tool and see how little water has penetrated into the clay.  dunk another one a little longer and try it again.    that takes care of 2 pieces and 2 experiments.

 

now, dunk a piece and put it inside a plastic grocery bag that you will close tightly.  let i sit while you do the same to another piece and let the plastic bag be a little looser.  keep these overnight just to see what happens.

 

put a damp towel around another piece and put that into a plastic bag for 10 minutes.  DAMP towel, not dripping wet.  

 

depending on your clay, you might have a mess or some good experiments in how your clay responds to different treatments.  if it is a groggy clay, it might not survive as well as a tight one.  but the results are for YOUR clay, not some abstract idea.

 

you may also realize that trimming can happen ever if the pot has gone bone dry.  a wet sponge only dampens the outside layer of where you touch the clay and as long as you control it so there are no running drips, you can trim the foot neatly, simply alternating sponge and sharp tool.